VOA NEWS

November 14, 2014

From Washington, this is VOA news. President Obama in Myanmar. Liberian president ends state of emergency over Ebola. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.



President Obama says he is confident of a "new day" in Myanmar, but admits there is still work to be done as that country transitions to a democracy.

President Obama spoke Thursday during a meeting with legislative leaders in the capital, Naypyidaw, and he said he his talks also focused on pushing the government to do more to protect human rights.

President Obama is attending a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

He praised Myanmar and its leader Thein Sein for hosting the gathering.

"During the past six years, we've made great strides in elevating and expanding this partnership, but I think we all agree we can still do more. And that's why the United States is committed to strengthening ASEAN, both as an institution and as a community of nations bound by our shared interests and values."

President Obama plans to meet with long-time democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi today.



Liberia's President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is ending the state of emergency she instituted because of the Ebola crisis.

President Sirleaf says the fight against Ebola is not over and that some restrictions will remain in place.

"Until the national goal of zero new cases by Christmas is achieved all across the country, we will keep many of the previous measures in place with appropriate adjustments consistent with the progress in our fight."

President Sirleaf says markets can reopen and a curfew will be pushed back to midnight in non-affected areas. She says "hot spots" for the virus continue to appear in rural areas, but the worst may be over.



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U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State militants will intensify in the future as Iraqi ground forces work to become more effective.

Secretary Hagel told a U.S. congressional committee Thursday the United States and coalition forces are making progress in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, but that the American people must prepare for a long struggle.

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also testified Thursday and said it is possible that sometime in the future U.S. officials will consider assigning a modest number of American troops to fight with Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul and elsewhere.



Israel is lifting age restrictions from Muslims who want to worship at the Temple Mount, the Jerusalem holy site the Muslims call al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israeli police have been limiting access to the site to women and men 35 and older, fearing youths plan to stir up violence.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Thursday to take steps to ease tensions between Jews and Palestinians over the holy site revered by both faiths and overseen by Jordan.

Mr. Netanyahu met in Jordan with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian King Abdullah.



In a new recording, a man purporting to be Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is calling for "volcanoes of jihad" against more Arab states and says the United States will eventually be drawn into a deadly ground war against the group's fighters.

The 17-minute recording was released on social media networks Thursday by the Islamic State.

Iraqi authorities say Baghdadi had been wounded in a U.S. airstrike last week that hit a convoy of Islamic State leaders near Fallujah. The U.S. military never made a similar claim. It was not known whether the recording was made before or after that air attack.



The World Health Organization says the global campaign to eliminate measles is in trouble. About 146,000 children died from measles last year, an increase of almost 24,000 from the previous year. Lisa Schlein has more.

The World Health Organization says a decline in routine measles vaccine coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease in recent years. It also has stalled global efforts to eradicate measles by 2015.

The U.N. agency says measles immunization efforts are hampered by lack of money, weak health systems and not enough awareness of the importance of vaccinating children against this killer disease. It notes it only costs about one dollar to vaccinate a child.

WHO estimates 15.6 million deaths have been prevented through vaccination between 2000 and 2013.

Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.



And I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.